Billionaire Don Hankey attacks California’s proposed wealth tax after fleeing to Nevada
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Don Hankey, founder of the Hankey Group, says he left California before the Proposition 40 residency cutoff and denounces the billionaire tax as a bad-faith policy that would reward the wealthy while starving public services, even as critics warn it could push money out of the state.
Don Hankey, the founder of the Hankey Group, said he moved from California to Las Vegas in December, just before the residency deadline for Proposition 40, the state's proposed billionaire wealth tax. > "I felt I just wasn’t treated well, and they really didn’t want me to stay there with my companies," Hankey told the California Post. He added that the tax "just economically makes no sense" and warned that California risks losing revenue by driving wealthy residents away.
Hankey, whose firm employs about 2,000 people in Southern California, said the company will keep its headquarters in Los Angeles for now but has acquired a 50% stake in a Las Vegas office building and may expand its presence there. He contrasted the move with what he described as fewer potholes in Nevada.
Economists opposing the measure have circulated an open letter signed by more than 100 experts, including four Nobel laureates and former White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Glenn Hubbard. The letter argues that the tax could prompt capital flight, raise legal challenges over retroactive application, and create valuation difficulties for privately held assets.
Supporters, led by the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, argue the tax would raise funds for health-care and other services. The union’s president, Dave Regan, described the proposal as a temporary measure to offset federal health-care cuts.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who opposes the tax, has endorsed a separate measure, Proposition 42, aimed at protecting retirees’ savings from new state taxes. He has also advocated for a national minimum tax on individuals with net worth over $100 million.
Legal preparations are under way, with the California Business Roundtable indicating it is ready to litigate if the tax is enacted. The organization’s president, Rob Lapsley, called the proposal "the worst possible tax policy at the worst possible time for California."
Polls show a close race for Proposition 40, with support hovering around the mid-40s percent. Even if the measure passes, competing initiatives backed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin could modify or block key provisions of the wealth tax.